The Hell in Finding Peace
by idkdudelol
Summary: How does life in the afterlife go? For the newly arrived Stefan Salvatore, there were no bounds. But when he wakes after finding peace, an unexpected visitor shakes his belief of what his new life in the afterlife even means. Starts with different ending to 8x16.
1. Chapter 1

**Hello everyone, this story starts with a slightly altered ending to 8x16. I hope you like it!**

* * *

It was hot. Like really hot. It was all Stefan could feel. No smell, or taste, or sound, or sight. He thought about Katherine, how this must be a breeze for her. What's a little hellfire to 6 years in actual hell? Then it hit him. Suddenly, Stefan felt the silk of his bed sheets, the crisp summer sun hitting his skin, and the smell of pancakes. "What the hell?" he mutters to himself.

He puts on some pants and a shirt and rushes downstairs. As he makes his way into the kitchen, he sees a figure. He moves closer, in disbelief. And with each foot forward, his begins to smile.

"Morning, sunshine." Lexi says, placing another pancake to the pile in front of Stefan. "I thought you'd want a good first meal after, ya know, the whole saving Mystic Falls and being a martyr thing."

"To be fair, I don't want to do these things." Stefan replies.

"You mean didn't. There's no more of this getting yourself killed for others, or putting your feelings or desires to the side. You've found peace, so you better loosen up or I will–"

"It's nice to see you too, Lexi." he replies, with a soft smile.

Lexi furls her lip, holding back whatever lecture she had started into. "Well, just so you know. We won the lottery. Here, we have the indestructibility of our vampire bodies and the taste buds and emotions of our human bodies. The best part– drink, get drunk, and no hangover the next day."

"You obviously have this whole peace thing down." Stefan says as he takes a seat at the island. "Any other things I should know about?"

Lexi freezes. A few minutes pass. Stefan, noticing the tension, works on the pancakes in front of him, plopping butter and syrup on top. As he eats, each bite seems like heaven. The pancakes are light and airy; the syrup and butter, rich, only heightening the flavors of the pancakes. Notes of cinnamon emerge, as Stefan continues to enjoy the breakfast. He was so engrossed in the food, he almost didn't notice when Lexi turned to face him.

"Okay, don't get mad." she finally says.

Just then, there's a knock at the door. Without thinking, Stefan races to answer it, all the while confused. " _Who else could possibly be here?"_

As he opens the door, Lexi stops in her tracks. She recognizes her. She knew those loose, long brown curls and that damn evil smile. " _How could she possibly have made it here?"_ she thought.

In what seems like Stefan's worst nightmare, he sees Katherine Pierce walk through the door, prancing past him and Lexi and into the living room. "Well, isn't this going to be fun?" she grins.


	2. Chapter 2

Stefan closes the door behind him. He's silent. He makes his way to Katherine and in one swift motion, grabs her by the neck and pins her to the ground. With what little air her lungs held, Katherine says, "Careful Stefan, you just got rid of hell. You don't want to be the reason it's running again now, would you?"

Something in Stefan just stops, he releases his grip on Katherine. And in the most indifferent tone he could muster he asked, "What are you talking about, Katherine?"

"See, that's what I always loved about you. You're so heroic. You—"

"Cut the crap, Katherine." Lexi says, rushing to Stefan's side, placing a hand on his shoulder. They both look at each other for a second, registering the gravity of what Katherine said, before turning their attention back to her.

"How cute. Did you two want to finish exchanging more longing looks for each other or shall I continue?" Katherine probes. She gives them both a mocking look, but on the inside, she broke a little. _"Why doesn't he look at me like that?"_

"Kill me, and explore the torture and agony that is hell or tolerate me, while you wait for your loved ones to arrive. Your choice."

There's a long pause.

 _"I'm in hell. There is no way the infamous Ripper of Monterey could find peace. Why else would I be stuck in this place with her? What type of sick joke is this?_ Stefan's mind kept racing. _Caroline. Damon. Elena. They all would go through all of that for her? Katherine? No. I won't allow it."_

"Give us one reason why we shouldn't kill you anyway? What's a little hell if it means you finally get what you deserve." Lexi dares, practically reading Stefan's mind.

Katherine turns her attention to the bar cart in the corner of the room. She pours herself a glass of bourbon and continues, "I was waiting for you to ask that. I had a feeling that you all would find some way to stop the destruction of that stupid town. So I had a back up plan. Cade and Kai were sweet enough to find me a way into this place and link Hell to my life. They said something about me being fragile or dying easily, but I stopped paying attention when I heard the important stuff."

"So, then you have no reason." Stefan darts for Katherine. She dodges his attack. He hits the coffee table hard, breaking it. Katherine stands over Stefan. "It's a shame that you haven't learned anything from all your years as a vampire." she gloats.

Lexi grabs Katherine, reaching for her pocketknife and subduing her in one swift move. "Well, good thing I did."

With a knife to her throat, Katherine's survival mode kicked in. Deep down she didn't want to be Queen of Hell. She couldn't bear the thought of that loneliness. "Please don't kill me. I've lost everyone I care about; I can't go back to Hell. I won't." She says, distracting Lexi while she her hand inched toward a table leg.

"Oh, please." Lexi says, before swinging the knife at her heart. Katherine clenches her eyes, the table leg just out of reach.

Just as Lexi is seconds away from handing Katherine her demise, a force stops her. Stefan's hand grabs the blade, his blood dripping onto Katherine. Both women are shocked, and yet relieved. He was still on the ground, his body seconds away from giving out. "Don't do it." He says before collapsing.

* * *

When he wakes, Stefan finds himself in his room, once again. He gets up and starts for the door when Katherine walks in with a bottle of bourbon. "You had a pretty bad fall," she says, handing him the bottle. "And you have a lot of catching up to do. You may want to sit down." Katherine stares at Stefan and the bottle, gesturing him to drink. He takes a swig and passes the bottle to her. They take a seat on his bed.

Katherine chugs the bourbon, like it would be help the situation. "Are you sure your fragile body can take all that liquor?" Stefan chuckles as Katherine wipes her mouth.

"You know, I used to drink when I was human." she retorts, almost insulted.

Stefan smiles. He missed this. He and Katherine used to be so playful. He looks at her, for the first time in what seems like forever, with a sort of affection. Katherine lets out a small laugh as she spots the way Stefan's looking at her. She hands him back the bottle and starts, "Stefan, you didn't have a pulse. I freaked out. I felt like I was dying all over again and that this was supposed to be my hell."

"Funny thing, I thought it was mine," he says, taking another gulp of bourbon.

"Not funny. Lexi had to calm me down and explain things—"

"Wait, Lexi didn't proceed to kill you?" he asks. "She hates you more than I do."

"Stefan." Katherine shoots him a look.

"Sorry, continue."

"I know you don't want me here, but I didn't plan this. As soon as I got here, I was supposed kill myself and reinstate Hell. I was going to be the all-powerful ruler of it, untouchable. I was supposed to find Damon. Take him as my first damned soul, but then you took his place. When I came to, I was in the ruins of the old Salvatore house. I needed to know you were okay but since coming here, I can't bring myself to leave." Katherine grabs the bottle and takes another swig.

Something in her tone changes. She sounds sincere, almost concerned even. "And I'm sure how strong I am here, but if I die, anyone living who has committed any sin will go to Hell. Time does not reset for them. That means Bonnie, Elena, Caroline, and Damon will endure endless suffering."

"Oh, come on!" Lexi barges into the room. She looks at Stefan with disbelief, "Are you really taking her seriously?"

"Stefan, it's the truth." Katherine says, getting irritated.

"When you bit the splinter, I told her that I would let her explain things, but I didn't know that it was going to be this loaded. How are we even supposed to take you seriously?" she says, looking at Katherine. "There's no one here to verify it and no magic to help us either."

The two women begin arguing, yelling to the point where their words are indistinguishable. When Stefan couldn't take it anymore, he just left the room, taking the bottle of bourbon with him. To think, he was just kicked out of his own room by those women.

He went down to the kitchen and took a seat at the dining table. The moon shone through the window above the sink, illuminating the ring on his finger. He thought about his brother and Elena, how they had beat all the odds to finally be together and how much he had sacrificed for them, for everyone in Mystic Falls. " _If Katherine is telling the truth, then we can't touch her. Shit, we're screwed._ " He gets up and head to the fridge, sipping the bourbon all the while. He opens the fridge and pulls out a bottle of rum. He zooms upstairs. _"Man, I missed vamp speed."_

When Stefan walks back into his room, Katherine and Lexi are still bickering. "Enough!' he yells. The women stop arguing and turn to him. Noticing his state, they burst into laughter, "What the hell are you laughing at?" he slurs. Both women walk towards him.

"I'll take that off your hands." Katherine says as she grabs the bourbon with one hand, takes his arm with the other.

"And, I'll take that." Lexi chimes in, freeing the rum from his other hand.

As they all are making their way to a set of chairs by the window, Stefan stops, and moves to face both of them. "For the rest of the night, we're going to call a truce. We are going to drink and be merry, because it is my first day here, and I want to have some damn peace. Okay?" He looks at Katherine and then at Lexi. They both look at each other and nod in unison.

They take a seat and Katherine and Lexi open their respective bottles and drink, somewhat awkwardly. Looking at the walls, the bookshelf, the lights, at almost anything to take their minds off of their sobriety and this whole situation. Stefan notices.

"For two bad-ass vampires, you girls really don't know how to handle your liquor, do you? Are you drunk already?" he says, mockingly.

The girls weren't fooled by his attempt; they had known Stefan long enough to know when he was trying to be subtle. Nonetheless, they stood up and began chugging anyway. Within minutes, Katherine and Lexi began sharing their best and worst Stefan stories—how awkward he was around women, how that somehow made him charming, how much of a sap he was for his brother, and all the times he did stupid things. Katherine and Lexi were on the floor, clutching their stomachs. Stefan was beaming.

"What's so funny, hero hair?" Lexi says, getting up to sit back in her chair.

"Yeah, hero hair?" Katherine joins, smirking.

"Okay first, Katherine I hate you for telling Lexi about that. I'm not going to here the end of it now. And second, how are you guys at each other's throats one moment and best friends the next?"

They both become serious, looking at their bottles before looking back up at Stefan.

"In your usual, theatrical way, you had just stopped me from killing Katherine. I was annoyed but kind of relieved," Lexi starts, " but then you collapsed."

"Lexi reached down and shook you, once, then twice. And then she started yelling at you. I tried calling name, but you didn't respond. I was frantic." Katherine says.

"I checked your neck for a pulse, then I checked your hand, and then I put my ear against your chest, praying that your heart was beating, but I just couldn't hear." Lexi continues.

"And then, we jumped to the worst possible scenario, that after everything you had been through, you would be alone. You would die without happiness or peace. And we both just started crying. We realized we were so busy fighting, we didn't notice the wood pierce you skin. We blamed ourselves."

"We didn't care about anything else in that moment. We just wanted you back. And then, you gasped for air. At that moment, we put aside our differences to make sure you were okay. Sure enough, your wounds healed, you heart rate and vitals picked back up." Lexi finishes. She looks to Katherine before speaking again, "And in that moment, nothing else mattered."

"Wait, so this whole indestructible thing isn't true, then? Stefan asks Lexi, confused.

"I was telling you what I learned from my experience of this place. Knife cuts and broken necks don't kill anyone, like not even a little bit. The wood splinter killing you was the first time I've seen anyone actually die."

"And the vamp speed? I was human when I died. It doesn't make any sense." Stefan says, even more confused.

"Maybe when you gave the cure to Damon, you regressed into vampirism? Who knows, sweetness? This shit is making my head hurt. I'm going to go chuck this." Lexi replies, as she gets up to leave.

"At least you guys know you deserve to be here. I should be burning in the depths of hell." Katherine says, with a hiccup.

"I think you're done for the night, Katherine." Stefan says, taking the bottle out of her hands and quickly finishing its contents. He hands the bottle to Lexi, who's heading downstairs, and returns his attention to his former lover. He picks her up out of the chair, his hands fitting the curves of her body perfectly. She wraps her arms around his neck, somewhat lifelessly, which makes Stefan chuckle.

"What's so fun—" Katherine manages.

"I've never seen you like this." he replies, grinning.

"Wha—drunk?" Katherine slurs.

"Yes, but also vulnerable. It's cute." Stefan replies, placing her onto the bed. "And hey, if I find my way here, so can the wicked Katherine Pierce." He lifts the covers and tucks her in. "Goodnight Katherine." he says, kissing her forehead. Katherine, drunk and happy, drifts off into sleep.

Stefan slowly tiptoes to turns off the lights and closes the door behind him.

He heads downstairs to find Lexi passed out on the couch, snoring and hugging the empty bottle of rum. " _Well so much for chucking it."_ he thought. He finds a blanket and tucks her in, as well.

As he leaves the room, something hits his foot. Stefan looks down to see Lexi's pocketknife on the floor. On the side is an inscription. _"Lexi, I will always love you. –Lee"_

 _"A weird gift to give someone you love,"_ he thought as he placed it on the table in front of the couch. " _But I'm glad that she was loved, she deserves so much."_

Stefan wanders back upstairs until he finds himself at the door to that familiar room. He opens the door and the smell of his brother's signature cologne hits him. " _I miss you, brother."_

Stefan searches through the bookshelf until he finds an old journal of Damon's. In the early 80's, he thought he could convince Damon to keep one, an idea that lasted all of three weeks. And yet, when Damon returned to Mystic Falls, he still brought the damn thing with him to show Stefan what an epic fail it was.

"Take the damn thing, I don't want it." he nagged.

"I don't want to know your insatiable hunger, feeding, and sex life, Damon. I'm a recovering ripper, remember?"

"Fine, but for all intensive purposes, this thing is yours, Stefan." he said, tossing the journal into the shelf.

Stefan always enjoyed reading his brother's mumblings of what a "stupid idea this thing was", or how his day was the "same as yesterday, and the day before, and last month, and 5 years ago".

And before he knew it, even Stefan was asleep.


	3. Chapter 3

The next morning, Stefan woke with Damon's journal on his chest and his clothes and shoes still on. He didn't even sleep under the covers. After all the drinking last night, he assumed that his head would be throbbing, but there was no sign of a hangover.

He tossed the journal to the side to find something else was underneath it. It was a small Polaroid picture of himself and Damon at his wedding. Ironically it was also the only picture he got to take that night. Caroline was the type of girl who liked people to be present, not posing for candids, taking selfies, and snapchatting. But more importantly, there wasn't much time between the vows and the huge explosion going off.

Stefan admired the picture, and then noticed from the corner of his eye, that there was a new entry in the journal. " _Of course. How else did this picture end up here_?" He thought.

 _"Dear Diary,_

 _I don't know how to do this. Stefan decided to die before showing me how to use this damn thing. But I don't know where else to turn to. I have been human for a total of three weeks, and without Elena by my side, they were torturous. I forgot how uncoordinated, weak, and slow I was as a human. It's been a challenge readjusting._

 _Today was different. I went to the crypt with Caroline and we both talked about Stefan. We mourned and cried, but we knew that he's in a better place. And when I walked outside, there she was. Awake. Bon-Bon broke the sleeping spell. And while I am forever grateful for that witch of a best friend, I owe all of my happiness today to Stefan. He gave me the chance to see Elena again, to spend my life with her. God, my brother really knows how to go out._

 _After some intense you-just-came-back-to-life sex with Elena, we had a memorial for Stefan. It was there that I took off the daylight ring, Caroline gave up her snow globe keychain, and Elena rested her necklace._

 _Elena says that after her parents died, Stefan was the one to make her feel alive, again. But I think he did more than that. If it weren't for Stefan I would never be living the life I am. None of us would have grown so close or so much. He made us who we are today. He made me a better person._

 _I wish I had gotten to say goodbye, in person, to say, "Thank you, brother, for all you have given me. And I hope that wherever you are, you're at peace." But I guess I'll just have to send the message up with Elena. Knowing my luck, they'd probably reopen Hell just for me._

 _Sincerely,_

 _Damon_

Stefan could feel the tears falling down his face. One even managed to fall on the page right next to Damon's signature. He was happy that his sacrifice paid off, happy that Caroline was able to hear him, happy that his brother had the chance to live out the life he deserved.

Suddenly, Stefan grew worried. He quickly wiped his face and jumped out of bed. After some pacing, he decided that he would put he book back in the bookshelf. " _Hiding in place sight, good."_ He thought. _If that book was updated between last night and this morning, maybe I can get a message to Damon about Kai's linking spell._ "

He quickly showers and heads down to the kitchen to make some eggs and bacon, hoping that no one else is awake yet. He sets the pan on the simmering stove and tosses some oil and bacon on it. Halfway through making the last set of strips for himself, Katherine walks in. "Mhmmm, bacon, my favorite." she says, rustling her hair. Stefan turns around and places the last set of bacon strips on their plate.

"I'm going to go wake up Lexi, can you make the eggs?" he asks, nonchalantly. The cooking helped put him at ease, but his heart was still racing. " _I really hope she can't hear my heartbeat."_

"Ugh, can't we just hire someone to do it for us?" she whines.

"Katherine," he says, giving her a pointed look. "You can do this, just don't burn the house down." When in reality, he was thinking, " _Thank god."_ He makes his way around the island and towards the door that connects to the living room.

"Fine." She says as she starts for the fridge.

 _I have to tell Lexi about the journal."_ Stefan thought, as he rushed into the living room.


	4. Chapter 4

She woke with a slight confusion. _"Why am I in Stefan's bed? And what is that amazing smell?"_ Katherine jumps out of bed and heads to the bathroom to check the damage from last night's little party. She comes to the sink, looking into the mirror expecting the worst. Yet, she realizes that other than her mascara being a little runny and her hair a little frazzled, everything else seemed in order. Taking a tissue, she wipes the blackness from under her eyes and proceeds to brush out her hair with a brush she found on the counter. To her surprise, the brush didn't ruin her curls, but instead realigned them. _"Now this, I could get used to."_ She then proceeds to brush her teeth.

After last night, Katherine knew that she needed to look her best. She had decided that she was going to win Stefan over, _"Even if it means we can only be friends and even if I have to watch him be lovey-dovey with that stupid best friend of his."_

Katherine wasn't much of a pep-talker, but she was very rusty with the whole friendship thing. With everyone else, it was always about sex, manipulation, and intimidation. " _Cade practically worshipped me from the moment I walked into hell and Kai just wanted to fuck Bonnie. All things worked to my favor, then,"_ she thought, thinking back to her time in Hell. _"But that's not me, anymore."_

"You can do this. You're Katherine Pierce." She told herself, starting for the kitchen.

When she reached the entrance of the kitchen she saw Stefan over the stove. The smell of the bacon hit her. "Mhmmm, bacon, my favorite." She said, rustling her hair, hoping she could get his attention. He turns to face her, placing the last of bacon strips on their plate.

He looks up at her and Katherine senses a tension in his gaze. _"Why is he nervous?"_ she thought.

"I'm going to go wake up Lexi, can you make the eggs?" he asks.

 _"_ _Something's wrong,"_ she thought _._ But instead of drawing attention to it she says, "Ugh, can't we just hire someone to do it for us?" in typical Katherine fashion.

"Katherine," he replies, giving her a look, "You can do this, just don't burn the house down." He makes his way around the island towards the door that connects to the living room.

"Fine." Katherine says, rolling her eyes as she made her way to the fridge. She grabs the carton of eggs and moves to the stove. Truthfully, Katherine hadn't cooked since her mother tried teaching her in 1489, so she really could burn down the house. Nonetheless, she opened the carton and begin cracking eggs over the hot pan. The first batch of eggs came out uneven, each one a varying color of dark to medium brown around the edges. She each of the eggs onto the three plates and moved onto the second batch. Much to her surprise, this time she is more focused on the pan, watching for the eggs to cook better. It even brought her a small joy. As the eggs reached a perfect crisp around the edges, she turned off the stove and plated them. " _Wow, I didn't burn the house down. I'm impressed."_ she thinks, as she begins setting up the table, pouring orange juice into cups, and placing the glasses, utensils and food.

* * *

Anxious, Stefan rushes to the living room only to realize Lexi isn't there. He runs upstairs, frantically searching for his best friend. As he walks past one of the guest rooms, he hears a small hum. At this, Stefan stops, swiftly turning around and walking into the room and the adjoining bathroom. Without thinking, he turns to the sink, turning the faucet so the water violently falls. Turning around, he heads into the shower, where Lexi is mid-conditioning her hair.

She is very angry and about to scream when Stefan clasps her mouth. "I have a way to get rid of Katherine," he whispers. "It's not actually a plan, but I have an—"

Lexi unclasps her mouth, whisper-screaming, "Can you wait until I have clothes on to talk about this?"

"No, you know Katherine will never leave you and me alone. She doesn't trust us that much and she really doesn't like you." he replies, frustrated.

"I don't like that bitch, either." she replies, annoyed.

"I think I have a way to communicate with Damon, tell him about this whole Katherine situation. I want you to distract Katherine while I try and get a message to him and breakfast is downstairs, when you're ready." Stefan says. He vamp-speeds out of the bathroom and back to his room.

Running into his closet, Stefan picks out a pair of light-wash jeans and a maroon button-down shirt. He's almost done getting changed that he realizes that he was just in the shower with his very naked best friend. A wave of awkward embarrassment runs over his face. _"Lexi won't care, right?"_

* * *

 _"_ _What the hell was that? Why do I care?"_ Lexi's mind was racing but her body was on autopilot. She mechanically dried off and changed into a maroon-colored crop top and black jeans before heading downstairs. _"Whatever, it's probably nothing. But I should tell Stefan about the other thing."_

When she arrived to the kitchen, Stefan and Katherine were sitting in silence. Katherine broke the silence. "I made the eggs, which is a big deal, because, I would never touch anything that ruined my nails. They're probably fantastic, try them." She says, gesturing to the empty seat next to her. Lexi sits at the table and begins playing with her food, eating bites every so often, but never making eye contact with Katherine or Stefan. _"What's wrong with her?"_ Katherine thought.

Stefan, almost done with his food, decides to make small talk. "So, what does one do when they've found peace?" he asks, hoping Lexi will answer. Katherine answers, instead.

"I know what I'm going to do." she jovially replies.

Entertained by the idea that Katherine had anything to do, Stefan beckons, "Oh really? And what business do you have here?"

"Finding Nadia, mending broken relationships, all that finding peace crap." she quickly replies.

"Hold up," Lexi says, "Since when did you care about your daughter? And of the few months that you knew her, how many did you spend completely ignoring her to try and get with Stefan?

"Okay, so I may have been a little distant, but that doesn't mean I don't love her. If I had a choice in the matter, I would have chose Nadia." she says, thinking back to that night. Picking up her plate, Katherine moves to the sink and washes her hands. "I'm going to go shower. You two lovebirds work through whatever tiff you're in." She says, prancing towards the stairs.

"Wait, wha—" A confused Stefan turns to Katherine only to find she's already gone.

"We matched, that's not weird." Lexi finally says, acknowledging Stefan.

"You know what they say about great minds thinking alike." He chuckles. Lexi doesn't laugh. Noticing this, Stefan becomes serious. "What is up with you?"

"Well, busting into the bathroom mid-my shower was not cool, but remember yesterday?" She says.

"Yeah," Stefan replies, with a confused look on his face. "What about yesterday?"

"I needed to tell you something before this whole Katherine thing happened." She says. Stefan gestures for her to continue. "I wanted to leave. I was here to make you breakfast and congratulate you on finding peace." She says, wincing upon hearing herself actually say it.

Stefan drops his cup of orange juice. The juice begins spreading all over the table. _"She just got here, why would she...leave?"_ he thought. Lexi looks up to find Stefan was looking at her, his face blank.

She continues, "I didn't know how to tell you, but I thought that since I had been watching over you for so long that maybe I could go have some fun. You know, I haven't seen my brother in centuries and I heard Lee is over here now."

Stefan understood. He knew that Lexi had been there for him through everything, but it didn't sting any less. He had just gotten his best friend back after nine years. _"No supernatural beings attacking us or veil spells keeping us from having fun, but did I distance her from her loved ones for all that time?"_ Lexi could feel Stefan brooding. She reaches out and tries to take his hand, but he pulls away. So instead, she reached for his plate, cup, and utensils. She gets up and walks over to the sink, turning on the faucet and letting the dishes run under the water while the suds formed.

 _"We've gone years at a time without seeing each other, why is he so attached now?"_ Lexi thought. She reaches into the sink and picks up the dishes to wash them. She tries to focus on the grease on the plates. Neither of them says a word. Time passes. Lexi breaks the silence. "Come on, cheer up. You don't need to go all dark and brooding for everything, you know. I'll be back by the end of next week." She smiles, attempting to conceal the sadness in her voice. Stefan notices. It's as if hearing her speak jolted him back into the moment. Instinctively, he gets up and walks over to Lexi. When he gets close enough, he wraps his arms around her waist.

"No. You need time for yourself." he says, "You've been looking after me for far too long. And maybe I'm just a little lonely."

"Well then, maybe you should cozy up to Katherine." she teases, turning to face him.

He snorts. "No, maybe I should stop brooding and try and have fun, sometimes. You know I am actually fun when I'm not trying to be a hero and a martyr, right?"

"I vaguely recall," she giggles. And just like that they in sync, again. Stefan pulls Lexi in for a tight embrace, smiling and laughing, Lexi reciprocating, even though she had suds on her hand. Stefan spun, lifting Lexi off the ground and flinging some suds toward the doorway, where Katherine was walking from.

"Wow, you've been here all of two days and you've already moved on from Caroline. So much for 'falling madly in love'." Katherine says, walking into the kitchen.

"We weren't—"

"She and I were j—"

"Oh save it. It's not like I can screw with Caroline, so that makes this vomit-inducing situation useless and so not fun." She says, grabbing an umbrella. "Who knew heaven could have stormy weather?" Katherine heads for the door to the living room. "Ciao, I'm going to go find someone who can help me find Nadia. Have fun and Lexi, I want to hear all about it after." Katherine winks at Lexi and pushes out the door.

"Did she just give us the okay to fuck?" Stefan asks, disgusted.

"And ask to hear about it afterwards like we were friends?" Lexi chimes in, also disgusted. "Is that really the girl that pined for you for 170 years?"

"I don't know, something's up with her." Stefan says, "but do you want to head upstairs?" Lexi shoots him a surprised look. Stefan rolls his eyes and then mouths the words "Damon" and "diary".

Stefan and Lexi run upstairs, giggling and making moaning sounds to sell the whole sexy time act. When they make it to Damon's room, they here the front door close and began scheming.

"So this is the plan?" Lexi asks in disbelief, "pretending we're in love?"

"It's perfect, it gives us alone time whenever we need it and Katherine already thinks we're together."

"And what am I supposed to say when she asks me about it?" Lexi responds, "I can't exactly lie about how you are in bed, she'll know."

"Hm, okay. Say I'm very giving and passionate. Talk about how I let you take control. Describe the emotions you felt with Lee." Stefan says.

"Okay, I'm learning a lot about your sex life, very quickly. But how am I supposed to do that when it's been 8 ye—" Out of nowhere, Stefan's lips are on Lexi's. _"Whoa."_

Stefan grabs Lexi's hips and brings her closer to him. She wraps her arms around his neck. "It was almost as if they were actually getting into it when Stefan pulls away. "Does that give you an idea?" he asks, releasing her from the embrace to look for the diary.

"Yeah," she says, amazed. Lexi stands there, trying to make sense of this whole situation. "Why are you kissing me when you're wife is probably still grieving your death and your ex is probably plotting to take me down to Hell to prevent us from being 'together'." She inquires.

"I love my wife very much and I miss her. As for Katherine, I don't know what she's up to, but she was telling the truth about being scared to go to Hell. She hates the idea of being alone. And that kiss gives you some idea of what I'm like, romantically. If we really want to keep up the act in front of Katherine, we're going to need to look convincing. But I'm glad I get to cross of 'kiss my best friend' off my bucket list." Lexi laughs. She walks over the bookshelf and begins looking through the numerous books.

"So, what am I looking for?" she asks, focusing on the more pressing matter.

"Got it!" Stefan says, some shelves down from where Lexi was. He opens the diary to find another entry in it. They both take a seat on Damon's bed and eagerly begin reading.

 _"_ _Dear Diary,_

 _I don't know why I continue to write in you. You just remind me of how much I miss my brother, which is really killin' my vibe, and my sex life._

 _Klaus showed up today, all too willing to bring flowers to a grieving Blondie. The paranoid original mutt is already trying to make a move on Caroline and Elena is telling me not to judge, but damn it that's my brother's girl. Why did I suddenly grow morals about stealing girls now? Irony's a bitch._

 _In other news, Elena is starting at Whitmore, soon. (Why Whitmore is beyond me, but she's stubborn.) She's stressing about majors, pre-med classes and volunteering, but I kind of stopped listening after the horrendous number of classes that she listed off. Why does college want to bore people to death? Caroline's helping her through all the technical stuff, but I'm guessing that's all going to fall to me with Klaus wanting to spend every wakening second with my fucking sister-in-law and planning around not being able to see his own daughter, another thing I didn't bother listening to._

 _Hopefully writing in you gets somewhat bearable sometime soon; Otherwise, you're going in the trash._

 _Sincerely,_

 _Damon"_

Lexi and Stefan are shocked. Stefan immediately gets up and chucks the book on the floor. Lexi knows he can't be reasoned with when he's like this so instead, she runs downstairs and grabs some liquor. As she walks in with the most expensive bottle of tequila in the house and two shots glasses, Stefan is sitting at Damon's desk.

"What are you doing?" she asks, placing the tequila and shot glasses down and peering over Stefan's shoulder. He is half way through a letter to Damon.

"I'm doing what I need to do, saying some things I never got to say to Damon, Caroline, Elena, and even Bonnie and warning them about Katherine." He pauses for a few minutes, gathering his words, "Before I died, I heard a voicemail from Caroline. She told me that she would love me forever. And I never got to give her my final message." He says, trying to not let his emotions get the best of him. Lexi places her hand on his shoulder. The gesture makes stop writing. A tear falls down his face, landing on Lexi's hand.

"I know you're not okay, but I also know you would kill me if I didn't make you finish writing this message down. So," she gestures to the journal. Stefan continues to write until he gets all the information down. When he finishes, he puts the journal back in the bookshelf, a different place this time, just in case. He then goes straight to the bed. Lexi, noticing this, grabs the tequila and does the same. They both just sit there passing the bottle off to each other, every so often. After an hour or so, Stefan gets up. He starts undressing, which startles Lexi. "What are you doing?" she asks.

"We need to look believable, so come on." Stefan smiles weakly.

 _"_ _I know I said I was going to leave, but he needs me."_ She thinks, as she strips down to her bra and panties. She takes Stefan's hand and leads him to the bed where she lets him rest his head on her chest. They lay there in the silk covers, in more silence, and drift into peaceful sleep.

* * *

 _"_ _I don't like the thing, but it's kind of therapeutic, so I'll do it one more time."_ Damon thought as he went up to that familiar place on the bookshelf. He reached up to pull out his journal to find that it wasn't there. He began pulling all the books out of the shelf until they were all in piles on the floor. When Elena got home he was still on the floor, rummaging through books.

"Damon, are you okay?" Elena asks, dropping her backpack in the doorway. She starts piling the books together and is about to put them on the shelf when Damon yells.

"No, I haven't look through those yet!"

"What book has you this interested?" Elena asks, half surprised, half confused.

"I can't find the damn journal Stefan gave me." He says, slamming the piles in front of him.

Elena moves closer to Damon. "The journal? You've been using it?" Her tone shifts. She's giggling. "Admit it, you like writing in the journal. Damon Salvatore…has…a diary!" she manages between snickering and snorts.

"Elena, if you know where it is, I need you to tell me now, before I compel it out of you." He says, with a stern look.

Elena stops laughing. "Damon, if this is your not-so-funny way of telling me you found a way to turn again, I might actually murder you. Remember that Alaric trained me."

"Relax, Pouty. I have a vampire for a sister-in-law, remember?" he says.

"You put it in this shelf last night, remember?" she says dropping the pile in her hand and heading to another shelf Damon hadn't looked through yet. She pulls out the journal and tosses it into Damon's lap.

"I never put it in that shelf." Damon retorts, getting and flipping to the page of his most recent entry. "And how come you never made fun of Stefan for his diary?"

"Because he never made fun of me or himself for having one. He was—"

"No. It can't be."

"Why did you—" Elena starts.

"Because, there's a new entry in here, in Stefan's handwriting."

* * *

 **If you liked this and would like me to continue the story, please write a review or PM me! Any feedback is appreciated!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Hello everyone! I was hoping to get this up earlier, but due to some writing and time issues, it got delayed.**

 **I would like to preface this by saying that I watch both the Originals and TVD, so the storylines intertwine a little in this chapter, which I tried to clarify a little with the dialogue. Enjoy!**

* * *

Damon and Elena inspect the journal, starting with Stefan's entry, then the ones before it, and then the whole book. The Polaroid picture that Damon placed in the book two entries prior was now sitting in front of the latest entry. "It can't be. There's no way. This is a prank." Elena starts, shaking her head in disbelief. Her lips are quivering.

"Elena, usually I'm inclined to agree with you, but that is undoubtedly Stefan's handwriting." Damon replies. He feels a weight life off his chest; relief settles in its place. _"Maybe he did find peace."_

"Maybe he wrote it before the wedding?" Elena says.

"There's only one way to find out." Damon says. He pulls out his phone and dials the numbers so fast, it's like he had his vamp speed again. "Hey. I'm fine, thank you."

Within milliseconds, Caroline zips into the room with Klaus following closely behind her. She quickly scans the room, ready to attack, when she realizes no one is there. "Damon, what the hell. We're only supposed to use that when your life is in danger." Caroline yells.

"Yes, but it was the only way I knew you'd come right away." He says with a grin on his face. Caroline rolls her eyes.

"Why 'I'm fine, thank you'?" Elena beckons.

"I may have read some of your older diaries when I was bored one night." Damon replies, "Something about you saying 'I'm fine, thank you' when you really weren't. I think it was the entry from the day you met Stefan."

"We made that our code words for whenever a vampire found you guys. Just in case they were after the cure."

"Aw, Caroline. You care for Damon that much?" Elena asks, standing up. She gives Caroline a hug, which Caroline reciprocates.

"I think it has more to do with making sure her husband sacrificing himself for his worthless brother pays off, my dear Elena." Klaus says approaching the two girls. He always knew how to sour someone's good mood.

"Klaus," Caroline scolds, turning to giving him a grave look. She turns back to Elena and takes her hands. "We're family, you, me, and Damon. I would do anything for you both. So," Caroline continues, "Why did I vamp speed over here?"

"I need to show you something." Damon says, holding up the journal. Caroline takes the journal from him and begins reading it aloud.

 _"_ _Dear Damon,_

 _I'm glad you and Elena are happy. It makes my sacrifice worth it. You'd think after all the things I've done, I wouldn't be able to, but I did it. I found peace. And I want to hear all about of your wonderful life so keep writing to me._

 _I need you to give Caroline a message. Tell her that I heard her and that I will love her forever, too…"_

Caroline's voice trails off. Tears well up in her eyes. She can't make out the words after. "He got my message." She whispers to herself. Caroline clutches the book to her chest and wipes her tears. She can feel waves of relief and joy hit her.

"What message?" Damon asks.

"After we dropped Bonnie off at the Armory, Ric tried to get me and the kids as far from the hellfire as possible. He told me what Stefan was going to do and I knew I had to talk to him one last time. But when I called, it went straight to voicemail. I thought Stefan died without knowing how I felt, but he got my message. He heard me."

There was a long pause. No one was sure what to say next, but Damon, losing his patience, broke the silence. He walks up to Caroline and points to the journal, "So there is no way that he wrote this before he died?" he inquires.

"No, I left that voicemail the night Mystic Falls was evacuated." She says, in disbelief. "How is this possible?"

"My brother is writing to us from the great beyond." Damon says, taking the journal from Caroline.

"Well then, what does the rest say, mate?" Klaus asks.

"Hm, where were you? Love her forever, too. Ah, here we go." Damon continues.

 _"…_ _I will be waiting for the day I get to see her again._

 _I would love to end this here, but I have some bad news, brother. Katherine didn't die that night in the hellfire. She found a way to link her life to Hell and find peace and says that any attempt to kill her will send everyone we care about to Hell. For all our sakes, I need you to help me figure a way out of this._

 _There's no magic here, so I have no way of telling if Katherine is telling the truth. So, find a witch who can help us. And if all this shit is true, find a way to unlink her. In the meantime, Lexi and I are doing everything we can to keep Katherine distracted, but we don't know how long we can keep this fake romance going, so please hurry._

 _Sincerely,_

 _Stefan"_

"For his sake, I hope he's telling the truth about this fake romance." Klaus starts. "If he does anything to break your sacred bond—"

"Klaus stop overreacting. I trust my husband." Caroline retorts.

"I think I'm going to vomit." Damon says, tossing the journal over his shoulder. "Katherine isn't easily fooled, so that makes their situation incredibly stupid and obscene."

"You're so right. It's not like you almost slept with Matt's mom or anything." Caroline chimes. Everyone laughs, except Elena.

"Lexi and Stefan? That's what you're all concerned about? Not the fact that Katherine is still trying to ruin our lives from beyond her grave? URGHHH! I mean will that bitch just stay dead for a few seconds?" Elena says, furious.

* * *

Lexi and Stefan are startled awake by a noise. _"Katherine's back already?"_ they both thought. Stefan looks at the clock to notice that it's only been two hours since Katherine had gone to search for Nadia.

 _"_ _But just in case,"_ he thought. Without hesitating, Stefan quietly gets out of bed and tosses Lexi his shirt. They both rustle their hair to give themselves a more disheveled look. "I'll go see what's going on," he whispers while racing out of the room. He didn't even bother to put a shirt on.

Stefan arrives at the kitchen to find a figure sitting at the shadowed end of the table. "Hello Stefan." the voice says.

 _"_ _I'd know that voice anywhere."_ He turns toward the figure. She stands up and steps into the mid-afternoon light with a devious look on her face. Like her mother, she walks like she's swimming through Jell-O. "What are you doing here, Nadia?" he says.

"What better place to hide from Katherine than a place she just left?" She replies.

"Why? She's wants to mend things with you." he replies, confusion washing over his face. "And, weren't the two of you close when you died?"

"Yes, but I've had some time to think about this. Katherine wasn't a good mother. From the moment I met her, she chose you over me and I don't want to let her back into my life unless I know that she's changed." she says.

"Well, she linked her life to the entire dimension of Hell." he says. _"And what's more evil than that?"_ he thought.

Nadia laughs. "That's just her trying to survive and you know that. Anything else?"

* * *

Lexi is still in bed, trying not to eavesdrop on the whole conversation happening downstairs. _"Who the fuck cares about all of this family drama, anyway?"_ she thought. "This is so boring." When she had enough, she tossed the covers to her side and bounced off the bed. Picking up Stefan's button down, she puts it on and buttons it about halfway. Lexi walks over to the mirror by the closet to examine herself. She does a little twirl and finds herself grinning. _"I look good."_ She thought, appreciating the bit of bra she left exposed.

On her way downstairs, she notices the bags she had packed sitting at the door. For some reason, that made her stop. _"Am I selfish for wanting to leave?"_ she thought. Lexi contemplated on all the time she has spent watching over Stefan. _"I've kept my family waiting for over 300 years. Do they even care about me anymore?"_ Lexi could feel the guilt surging through her, but she shook it off.

* * *

Stefan had listed off all the ways that Katherine had hurt him through the years, but nothing seemed to convince Nadia of her mother's wicked nature. "Are you sure that you don't want her in your life? You haven't found any fault in her, in spite all the horrible things she's done to me and my brother." He grew very irritated.

"Have you ever met you or your brother? You don't leave us with many options. Anyone who disagreed with your plans were cast aside or killed. Just look at what your so-called friends did to Bonnie." She responds.

"Your mother took over Elena's body to avoid dying, even after we forgave her for everything and gave her a peaceful death." Stefan claims.

"After your brother shoved her neck into Silas's teeth." She responds. Within minutes, quick banter turns into loud voices, yelling without consideration for the other.

"Hey St…Whoa, can you two calm down?" Lexi interrupts just as Nadia and Stefan reach for wooden weapons. She wedges herself in between the two of them, saying, "You don't want Katherine to come back and see this. She'll bring back Hell if either of you do anything to the other. Put the wood down."

A few moments pass before both relax and present their weapons to Lexi, who proceeds to toss them into the corner.

"Who are you?" Nadia inquires.

"I'm Lexi," she answers. Lexi walks to Stefan and wraps her arms around his waist.

"She's a friend," he adds. He smiles and places a hand on the small of Lexi's back.

"Okay, that's disgusting." Nadia says, pointedly.

"And you're a bitch." Lexi replies. She turns back to Stefan and in the most sensual tone she could muster she says, "Sweetness, can we go back upstairs?"

"Don't overreact, what did you say your name was again, Lexi? I watched Stefan get married to Caroline from up here. So him shacking up with you not even a few weeks after is disgusting." She says, smugly. "Stefan, update me on Katherine's intentions?"

"Why should I?" he asks.

"Out of the kindness of your hero heart?" she says, almost flirting with him.

"Hm, let me think…No." he replies.

"Fine, then so I don't kill Katherine." Stefan and Lexi are dumbfounded, but they don't say anything.

 _"_ _She's bluffing,"_ Lexi thought.

"After all those years of searching, I find my mother just to be used and killed. As far as I know, she won't change. So, I want some payback. And she would never condemn her estranged daughter. It really is the perfect revenge." Nadia looks between Stefan and Lexi, waiting for them to respond. "The choice is yours," she says before speeding out of the house.

Lexi turns to Stefan, worried. "Will she actu—" she starts.

Stefan nods. "You don't know Petrova women. They can be really stubborn when they want something." He answers.

"How many do you know?"

"Katherine, Nadia, Isobel, and Elena. I don't really include Amara, she was just crazy."

"So what's the plan?" Lexi probes. Stefan shrugs. He walks into living room and falls onto the couch by the fireplace. _"He seems stressed."_ Lexi thought. For a while, Stefan just stares at the fireplace and Lexi at him.

Time passes. Minutes turn to hours and soon it's nightfall. At some point, Lexi had left to do other things. _"I'm surprised she sat with me for that long."_ He grins. After some searching, Stefan finds Lexi in the library. She's settled into Damon's reading chair with a diary open. As he gets closer, he recognizes it. _"Fuck,"_

"How is your life is so tragic?" She says, showing him the page she was on. It's the entry from the day he met Katherine.

"I don't know." He replies. Stefan snatches the diary out of her hands, and stares at the page. "I fell for her, hard."

"And that's the beginning of every problem you've ever had." Lexi mocks.

"No, Katherine and I would have met regardless, doppelgänger fates intertwined and all." He responds.

"That is some bad luck," she says, walking to the bottle of bourbon.

"Ease up on the liquor, there Lex. We've been drinking since I got here." Stefan says.

"No I need some to get me through this next part." She answers.

Stefan knew this was coming. Before Lexi could pour the glass, he says, "You should go."

Lexi turns to face him, bourbon at hand. "What?" she asks, surprised.

"I've thought this through. I can handle things with Katherine and Nadia. You should be able to go and visit the people you care about."

"Are you sure? What are you going to tell Katherine? I don't want to leave if you're not safe," she says.

"No, I can handle it." Stefan replies. This unnerved Lexi and he noticed. "Did you want to stay? I'm lost."

"No, I want to go, but I just…it's been almost 340 years since I saw my family. They sent me a message when I got here, but I never replied. Same thing happened when Lee got here, but I wanted to make sure you were okay and after you lost your brother and then all the stuff with Kai and your mother—"

"You think they don't want to see you?" Stefan asks in disbelief. "Lexi, my brother and I wouldn't speak for decades at a time. And when we would, we would always reconcile, regardless of all the things we put each other through. And I've only been here for two days, but according to Damon's first Diary entry, it's been three weeks since I died." Lexi doesn't say anything. She still seemed unsure. "Go. Meet them. Neither of us will be able to live with ourselves I didn't push to do this."

"Okay," Lexi manages, with some reluctance. She hands Stefan the glass and runs back to the grabs the bottle. A newfound excitement sets in. Beaming, she says, "Then this is our goodbye toast."

"Pour me a glass, too." Katherine says, from behind them. Katherine could sense that she was killing the mood, but she didn't really care. "What? I just got back from a long day of searching for Nadia and I love a good drink." She walks up to the table and get a glass and skips over to the two.

"You were out for a few hours" Stefan says.

"It's only day one and I have a lot of time." Katherine replies, gesturing for Lexi to pour her some bourbon, which Lexi begrudgingly does. "To family," Katherine says, as everyone holds up their glasses. The threesome clink their glasses and drink. Lexi then gives Stefan a warm hug.

"See you 'round, Lexi." Stefan says with a melancholic tone.

"Bye Lex—" Katherine starts, but Lexi vamp speeds upstairs and out of the house before she can finish.

* * *

"I know you're mortal, but please tell me sister, what you took so bloody long?" Klaus asks Freya as they march upstairs. He is annoyed, as usual. When they reach Damon's room though, he composes himself a little. Freya didn't expect that. In the few years she knew her brother, she had only seen this side of Klaus once.

After a few deep breaths, Klaus opens the door with a smile on his face. "Freya, this is Caroline, Elena, and Damon. Everyone, this is my elder sister, Freya." He says.

"How much older exactly?" Damon asks curiously.

"I'm the oldest of my siblings." Freya responds.

" How is that…I don't even want to know." Damon replies.

"Not to be that person, but what took so long?" Caroline interjects, "Klaus talked my ear off for the past week about how you have no loyalty or sense of family and all that always and forever crap."

"Keelin, my girlfriend, convinced me to go on a mini-vacation, and she was just so persuasive. I could—"

"Everyone, we really should be getting back to the matter at hand." Klaus says as he and Freya walk to Elena, who seemed to be the only person not interested in introductions.

Over the past few days, she had reread the entry more than 20 times. Initially, it was endearing. She liked how Stefan had written with such sincerity to Caroline and Damon. But with each reread, Elena grew glum and even a little jealous _. "I didn't get to say goodbye,"_ she thought.

When she sees Klaus walk in her direction, Elena is brought back to the moment. "Yes, here." Elena says, handing Freya the journal. "Is there any way to know if what Stefan said is true?"

Freya takes the book. She reads over the last few entries and examines the journal itself. "You're Stefan's family?" Freya asks.

"Yeah, why?" Damon inquires.

"He helped our family, once. He was a good person. I'm sorry for your loss." She replies looking between Damon and Caroline.

"Thank you." They say, in unison. Elena held back a frown.

"Are you sure that this entry is from after he found peace?" Freya asks.

"Can you help us?" Elena asks, a bit on edge.

"If this really is from beyond the dead, I'll do you one better. I can take you directly to Stefan." Freya replies.

* * *

 **If you enjoyed this and would like me to continue the story, please leave a review or PM me! Any feedback is welcome :)**


	6. Chapter 6

Hello everyone! I am so sorry for just posting this, but school has been pretty hectic. Enjoy!

* * *

"You can? How?" Elena asks, pushing past Damon and Caroline. She grabs Freya's shoulders a little too hard.

"Well, first I'm going to need you to let go of me. Otherwise, you may lose your hands." Freya responds with a grave tone. She gestures to Klaus, who looked like he was ready to pounce.

"No one hurts my family." He starts. Caroline moves to place herself between them.

"Hey, there's no need to threaten anyone." Damon says, pulling Elena off of Freya. "What's the plan?" he asks.

"Well, first, I need to know who I'm sending in. Which one of you is the best at recon and stealth?" Freya responds.

"Me!" Elena, Caroline, and Damon exclaim. They all exchange indignant looks.

"I'm the only one who's stuck to any plan we've ever come up." Damon starts.

"Oh please. You did whatever you wanted. And, you come up with the worst plans. I, however, was Miss Mystic Falls, was on Prom committee, Heaven and Hell Ball committee, Whitmore's charity committee, and was Vice President of the the Historical Society. I am the Queen of making plans." Caroline retorts. "Plus, I'm the only one capable of protecting myself, if the situation arises."

"Well, I'm...I..." Elena trails off. She doesn't make eye contact with anyone. She can't justify going in, but she can't cry about it either. " _No, not now. Caroline and Damon miss him just as much as I do. I can't do this to them_." she thought. "I think Caroline should go." she musters up. Caroline, visibly unable to contain herself, reels in her victory. The men in the room seem less excited, however. "When can we start?" she continues.

"Right now, if you want. I can channel Klaus—" Freya starts.

"When did we discuss that, sister? Or did you think that I'd torture myself for just anyone?" Klaus chimes in.

Freya rolls her eyes. "Since you seem so bent up on posturing, I thought these people might mean something to you." Freya responds, pausing to look between Klaus and Caroline. "But," she continues, "If more than one of you wants to go in, then I won't be able to hold the spell long. "

"Well, I guess it's good I flew in, then." A deep voice says from the door. Everyone turns to find Bonnie waiting with her suitcase. "I guess this whole psychic thing really does work." she says, smiling. Caroline rushes to her and gives her a bear hug. Elena, a few moments behind her, joins the two. It was as if Bonnie's presence shifted something in Elena. She felt more at peace, instantaneously. After the moment passed, Bonnie turns to Freya. "And with my help, all of them can go, for longer." she says. "Between a Bennett and a Mikaelson, I think we can manage that."

Freya eyes her for a moment, slightly turned on. "All I need is some candles and salt." she replies, just as Bonnie reaches into her suitcase and pulls out those very things.

"Like I said, this psychic thing really does work." Bonnie smirks.

* * *

Katherine and Stefan had spent the past few hours catching up. He told her about the sirens, Cade, and the huntress. She told him about hell, how she got a free pass from Cade, and Kai's torture fetish.

"And Bonnie put him there, so you know he's at least had some fantasies about that." Stefan snorts.

"Oh my god, he would. You think he and Bonnie ever did it?" Katherine wonders.

"I could see them hate-fucking before Bonnie trapped him in the prison world. Hell, Damon thought they actually did." Stefan responds.

"Really?" Katherine probes further. The glass in her hand spilled onto the sofa, but she didn't care, mostly because she was drunk, but also because she felt like she was finally getting to a good place with Stefan.

"She just seemed so indifferent after getting her revenge. She didn't even mention it. And usually, Bonnie, didn't shut up about it." he pauses, "And apparently, her shirt was on backwards." They both burst out laughing; the liquor was definitely getting to them. The goodbye toast from earlier had turned into almost-empty bottles of bourbon and tequila. " _This is nice. It's like nothing ever happened. Is this what peace is?_ " As the laughter died down, Stefan smiled, losing himself in thought.

"Truth or dare?" She asks randomly.

He chuckles, taking a swig of the tequila. "Who knew Katherine Pierce played Truth or Dare? I thought the only options were Obey or Die."

"Peace changes a girl." she chimes.

"I'm feeling courageous. Both," he scowls, "Tequila is not my drink."

"No, you're just not drunk." Katherine retorts. "First, I dare you to finish the bottle of tequila." Stefan winces, giving her a pleading look. "Come on, there's not much left. And since when has the heroic Stefan Salvatore ever turned down a challenge?" she mocks.

"If I puke on you, it's not my fault." Stefan says before tilting the bottle upside down. " _Just pretend your back at Harvard. This is just some cheap tequila from a random frat party_." he thought. And after a few moments, he felt sweet relief. The burn and bad aftertaste subsided just in time for him to avoid gagging.

"See, that wasn't so bad." Katherine giggles. "And as for the truth," her face becomes grim, "Do you think that things would have turned out differently if I had taken you with me when I left Mystic Falls back then?"

Stefan sat quietly. He never thought about it. " _I only remember that my misery resulted from turning. All the killing and pain comes back to her._ " He gazes back at Katherine when he finally knows what he was going to say. But when he finally began to speak, Stefan felt it—a pulse. It was familiar, something he only felt when Elena was near. And with that, he stood up and turned away. The room around him felt as if it was moving further away and his only desire was to get to the basement.

Katherine, seeing this, could feel her heart beat louder than ever before. "I don't think I want to hear this answer." she remarks. Without looking back, she instinctively ran upstairs and shut the door to a guest room. "So much for being friends." she exhales, tears welling up in her eyes.

* * *

Meanwhile, Stefan walks toward the basement. When he got downstairs and came to, he had found his way into the wine cellar where Elena, Damon, and Caroline stood with tears in their eyes.

"Hello, brother." Damon says.

* * *

If you enjoyed this, please leave a review or PM me with critiques! They are really helpful during the writing process and I am open to tweaking this story :)


	7. Chapter 7

Stefan couldn't believe his eyes. " _No it can't be_." he thought. " _They look so young._ " A lump forms in his throat as he looks between Elena and Damon. He reaches out and touches Damon's shoulders. " _Why can I feel him?_ " His vision blurs as tears form and he starts shaking his head in disbelief. And when he finishes processing a bit, he asks, "Are you dead?"

"What?" Caroline exclaims. "No, you drama queen. We spelled ourselves here with Freya and Bonnie's help. God, what has your time here done to you?" There is an awkward pause.

Stefan breaks into laughter and rubs his eyes. And for some reason, that made everyone else start crying. They hadn't seen Stefan in what felt like an eternity and seeing him laugh triggers something in them.

"We missed you." Damon says, meaningfully. He grabs his face and gazes at his brother. "I missed you, brother."

"I think about you everyday. I think about your sacrifice and how our home is safe, now, because of it. We built a school for gifted children at the boarding house, in your honor." Caroline adds, putting her arm around his waist.

"Thank you for everything you've done for us." Elena finishes. She seems the most emotional over seeing Stefan. " _He looks older than I remember._ " she thought. As she moves forward to hug him, Damon and Caroline do too. They all stand there in that embrace, all too miraculous to believe, for some time. And when they finally break that embrace, Stefan understands what is happening.

"You all came here to help with Katherine?" he asks, confused.

"None of us got a proper goodbye. You died before we got the chance." Caroline says in a serious tone. "We wanted to help, and we all wanted to see you."

"So what can we do?" Stefan asks.

"That's where it gets a little complicated." Damon says. "We need to get Katherine's bone dagger."

"What? Does that thing still exist?" Stefan remarks.

"Well according to Freya and Bonnie, the witchy-woo that Kai may have brought into whatever-this-place-is-called is probably bound to that dagger. It's the only thing that connects Katherine to Hell." Damon says.

"So if we get it out of here—" Stefan starts.

"We don't know if it prevents her from reopening Hell, but it gets us one step closer to making sure she doesn't." Caroline answers.

"We need to take it back with us to check it." Elena adds. "And we need to do it fast. We don't have much time left."


End file.
